Baltimore, MD – The Center of Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) ™ in partnership with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services (BCDSS) hosted a Family Fun Day on September 24, 2022, at 2923 E. Biddle Street, in Baltimore. To celebrate the Grand Opening of the BCDSS KinCare Center for supporting kinship families and C.A.S.E.’s offices, the event was full of free activities for families to enjoy including games, arts and crafts, and face painting.
The C.A.S.E. Baltimore City office is dedicated to strengthening the mental health and family relationships of adoptive, foster, guardianship, and kinship families through free specialized individual and family therapy, case management, education, and training. “Born and raised in Baltimore, it is great to see my dream realized of better serving families in the area where the need is the greatest. I look forward continuing to build the strong collaboration with the leadership and staff at BCDSS to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children,” said Debbie Riley, LCMFT and CEO of C.A.S.E.
In the first year of its partnership with the Department of Social Services, launched in July 2021, C.A.S.E. has served more than 60 children and family members. Through ongoing philanthropic community support, C.A.S.E. is excited to be able to continue these services in the year ahead. Funders include Aegon-TransAmerica Foundation, CareFirst, France-Merrick Foundation, Aaron and Lillie Straus Foundation, Whiting-Turner, and a new $100,000 grant from The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation. Thanks to the recent additional funding from the Weinberg Foundation, C.A.S.E. will be able to expand services and hire an additional therapist to serve Baltimore City.
In the first two years, C.A.S.E. expects to improve the wellbeing and permanency of 100 children and their 150 family members through engagement in trauma-informed, adoption-competent individual and family therapy, case management, and psychoeducation.
Brandi Stocksdale, Director of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, was on hand to greet families, “It is so important to collaborate with organizations like C.A.S.E. that can bring specialized expertise to the families we serve. Together we are creating a nurturing environment for families to heal and thrive.” Additionally, C.A.S.E. will support Department staff to take advantage of its free 20-hour web-based National Training Initiative (NTI) course on adoption competency, funded through a cooperative agreement with the Children’s Bureau, to enhance and strengthen their skills.
The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) ™ envisions a world where every child and family connected to adoption, foster, and kinship care thrives, embracing our individual and collective diversity. A nationally recognized leader, the nonprofit organization’s mission is to improve the well-being and permanence of children and their families by delivering adoption competent mental health services, training a national network of professionals, and informing the field through research and advocacy. C.A.S.E. has trained over 20,000 mental health and child welfare professionals in 32 states. With 8 offices in the greater Baltimore-Washington metro area, C.A.S.E. has provided clinical services for more than 6,800 clients and their families since its founding in 1998. Visit www.adoptionsupport.org to learn more.
Newsletter Sign Up
866-217-8534